Everything that Means Something
by AliceKnowsAll
Summary: A MFoMT story. Claire moves into the farm and ends up in the middle of a violent love triangle. Claire x Rick and Claire x Kai. Basically, you must make scarifices to truly love someone. Should be better than this summary.
1. Lost

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or any of its characters. I am merely borrowing the characters for this story._

**Claire's POV**

Well… this was it. The real deal. And now I was wondering exactly why I had sold everything that meant something to me and moved here. My old life was no more. No one from my old life even wanted to talk to me anymore anyways; I hadn't exactly given them much warning. And now I was here. A clean start, somewhere where no one knows my name. It was literally coming true.

"So do you think you might stay here then Claire?" The mayor of this small town, Thomas, watched me nervously. Only moments ago he had laughed at my predicament and I had brought my hammer square on his forehead. Luckily, being a city girl I didn't do any serious damage.

"Yeah… I'll stay here… I can't really go back home now anyways." I looked over at the tiny shack I would be calling home and cringed inwardly, my apartment was about the same size but it actually had a kitchen and a real bathroom. I was going to have to learn to live without that I guess. That hot spring thing the mayor discussed sounded promising.

"Well, I'm very, very sorry that you weren't better prepared for this. I will do my very best to help and I'm sure the rest of the townsfolk will be more than willing to help too." He smiled happily. These people were so kind, no chance of getting mugged here. I don't even know why I packed my pepper spray.

"Great! I really appreciate your kindness." I smiled; he wasn't all that bad of a guy. I might actually be happy here in time. At least I was finally doing what I had been wanting to do for a long time, living the dream.

"Today there is a festival going on so I have to go prepare. You can just unpack and settle in today if you want. The villagers won't be expecting you anyways. I'll come by tomorrow to take you around town and introduce you to everyone if you would like."

I smiled again. "Sounds great! I'll see you tomorrow then." He tipped his head professionally and walked off. I looked around my debris-strewn field before heading into my house to unpack.

----- 3 Hours Later -----

It hadn't taken too long to unpack what little possessions I had brought with me. Everything was where it was supposed to be and now this little shack was starting to look like home. I sighed contentedly and stepped out into the sunlight. It was only noon so I figured I had enough time to go for a walk. I would've gone into town but I wasn't sure if I really wanted to meet anyone yet. Those people were probably welcoming in the shiny New Year with their families and wouldn't want some stranger girl butting in. Also, I knew the Mayor would be hurt if I started my tour without him.

So I set off in the other direction- into the woods. Nature is supposed to have a soothing effect on the soul… right?

I wandered along the path. This certainly was the life! Walking along in the peaceful woods, no one in sight except for the log cabin I had passed about an hour ago. The sun was rapidly setting and…

"I have absolutely no idea where I am." I sighed loudly and sank down on a tree stump. I probably should have thought to ask the Mayor for directions of some sort. He didn't really seem like an outdoorsy kind of guy though.

My hand wandered down to my feet and I pulled off my shoes. I had bought the cherry patterned flats- baby doll style I must add- a month before I ditched everything and came here. They were simply adorable with my white capris and red v-neck shirt. I had worn the entire ensemble to have a proper first impression on these impressionable townspeople but of course, when you wear relatively new flats without socks and then walk miles into the woods you tend to get blisters.

And I had them- big time. I rubbed casually at my feet and watched the sun set from my stump. Looks like I might be spending the night here. I wasn't going to look for a way back in the dark. I could only imagine the headlines in the local paper. 'Oblivious city girl mauled by wild dogs in woods- Why exactly she was in the woods in the first place is a mystery.'

"This is fabulous!" I threw my hands in the air. "Simply amazing! What a first day!" I ran my hands slowly through my hair in frustration. I was going to look like crap when the Mayor came by for my 'little tour' in the morning. I lowered my head into my arms and curled up on my stump. That was when I heard a low chuckle.

My head shot out from my arms and I squinted into the darkness. "Who's there?!" I heard the chuckle again, a deep throaty sounding chuckle- deffinately a man. I grabbed my hammer from my rucksack.

"I'm armed! Show yourself before I start blindly swinging this thing!" I raised the hammer behind my back threateningly.

"Alright little girl- calm down. I'm not going to hurt you." A large bearded man stepped out from the shadows, his hands held out, palms foreward. Normally I would have blindly started swinging if someone like this jumped out of the shadows in the city, but this guy seemed okay. He had a soothing voice and come on! This is the country! How many rapists live in the country?

"Excuse me sir, but I'm not a little girl. I'm nineteen for your information." He chuckled again.

"Sorry miss, you seem like a little girl to me. Nineteen is quite young you know." He offered me his hand. "You look lost."

I eyed the hand skeptically before putting my flats back on and taking it. "I _am _lost. Very lost." I wasn't going to turn this guy's help down. Who knows how long it would take for that Mayor to find me? This strange man here seemed like my only way out.

He pulled me up from the stump. "Follow me, little girl." He tugged on my hand gently and we set off down some forest path to God knows where.

**A/N: So what do you think? It's only my first Harvest Moon fanfiction and I've been thinking about this plot for a long time. I already know how this whole story ends. It should be pretty obvious who the man in the woods is but for those of you who can't figure it out, you'll see in the next chapter. I know Claire is more of a city girl than usual but I figure, if she just came from the city she's not really going to know everything right away. Anyways, I hoped you liked it. I'll see if I can find time to get the next chapter out soon.**


	2. Gotz

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or any of its characters. I am merely borrowing the characters for this story._

**Claire's POV**

"Would you like some tea? Some wine?" The man inquired friendily. Yes I know, crazy. I followed the strange bearded man to his cottage in the woods. And now he was offering me an alcoholic beverage… or tea, whichever I prefer.

"No to the wine sir, I don't believe it would be safe to take alcohol from a stranger." Even though there was an open smile on my face, my posture remained stiff. We hadn't really said much on the walk besides. "Here's my house." Not really anything to build a solid relationship on. Besides, every time I had tried to say something or stumbled in the dark in my flats he broke into another one of his low chuckles. I must be absolutely hilarious to him. I'm not really liking this laughing thing quite as much as him though. The whole rubbing salt into my hemorrhaging wound. Not fun.

Of course he laughed before answering me again. "I said before. I'm not going to hurt you. But what do you say to some nice herbal tea? And all me Gotz, not sir. You're making me feel old." Oh, so this overly friendly man was named Gotz. Gotz was still trying to push some 'o that herbal tea on me.

"No thank you s-Gotz, I've never been a tea drinker. If you have some plain old water I'll have a glass of that… and call me Claire." If he was giving me his name he might as well know mine. It would've been rude not to say my name. I leaned back a bit, resting against the sturdy wooden back of the chair. It felt rough, but not uncomfortable.

A heavy mug full of water was placed in front of me and I took a sip. I hadn't really realized how thirsty I was until now. I drained half of the mug before I noticed that Gotz had taken the seat across from me and was watching me intently. I wiped the back of my hand across my mouth and smiled sheepishly. "Thanks."

Gotz waved one of his large hands casually. "It's nothing." He returned to watching me closely for another moment before sighing heavily, his eyes filled with almost a hungry desire- which of course creeped me out just a little bit- but there was also an ancient sadness- some untold suffering of sorts. The part that kept me from running out of his house screaming.

"You remind me of my daughter." He finally admitted.

I was relieved by this statement, he was only looking at me because I reminded him of his own flesh and blood. Oh _so _relieved. "Oh thanks, I guess." I scanned his small home, only one bed, I had thought he was a bachelor actually. There was absolutely no sign of a feminine touch anywhere- minus the soft watercolour painting above his large bed. "Does your daughter live in the city?"

He sighed heavily again. "No…" He looked me over and a smile spread across his face. "But you obviously did."

I grimaced, was it really that obvious? "Yeah I am from the city… I just got here today actually." I looked down at my perfectly manicured nails. Yep, pretty obvious. I should of read more about country living before I came here.

"You must be the one who bought Oscar's farm." Who's farm? It didn't really look like anyone's farm to me. It looked more like they had slapped some buildings on a big wasteland and tried to sell it to unsuspecting people like myself. I never thought the 'lovingly tended croplands' thing was true.

"Someone owned the farm before me!? Did they even know how to farm!?" Not that I knew how to farm or anything, I just figure I'll do a better job than the last guy did.

"Yes, before you came Oscar owned the farm. That was many years before you of course, you probably weren't born yet. Oscar died some twenty-two years ago I believe. I was your age then. In those times that farm was the top producing farm in the area, no one could top it. But Oscar never married and when he died there was no one to take over so it just sat for years and years. Quite the pity. Oscar loved those lands. I used to spend a lot of time there as a boy. Never saw a man more in love with the land than Oscar… Probably why he never married." Gotz grabbed his mug and took a swig. I copied him and drained the rest of my water. We sat in comfortable silence for a moment. I kinda liked this Gotz guy, he was comfortable if a person can be described that way. Like his chair, rough yet comfortable.

"That was interesting Gotz, I feel like I have a lot to live up to now." Gotz rose and gathered my mug, slapping me on the back with his free hand.

"Don't worry Claire. I sense something good about you… you'll succeed." He rinsed out the mugs in his sink and put them back on the shelf. I yawned widely, I was worn out after all the walking and panic attacks.

Gotz checked the big clock hanging on his wall. "Oh my 11:30 already! You must be spent, I'll walk you back to your farm." I rose a little unsteadily from my chair, clutching the back until I could get my wits about me again. Gotz waited until I was ready and then guided me out the door.

"Do you need me to hold you hand again?" He asked only jokingly but I grabbed his hand anyways. I needed to feel like I wasn't so alone in such an alien place, that there was actually someone who was looking out for me. Someone who might care if I got mauled by wild dogs.

"Yes actually." I mummered. He seemed to understand how I felt because he squeezed my hand comfortingly and we walked back to my new home in silence. When we reached the door I turned and threw my arms around his neck. "Thank you for saving my life." Yes I know I was scared of this man only hours ago, but I figured after dragging me through the woods he deserved one.

He patted my back gently and chuckled. "Anytime dearie, anytime." I watched him disappear into the darkness before entering my house. Once inside I peeled off my clothes and collapsed onto my bed. I was asleep in moments.

**A/N: Alright there's chapter two. I figured most of you guessed it was Gotz in the last chapter. Sorry it took me so long to get this one up! Next chapter Claire will meet the many villagers, including Rick. I'll try to get it up in less than a week, it all depends on exams and homework. That's all! Hope you liked chapter two!**


	3. Tour

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or any of its characters. I am merely borrowing the characters for this story._ Claire's POV 

**A/N: First off I just want to apologize for taking so long to get this up. I'm in a new semester now and it's a lot harder than my last one so updates might take a long time just to warn everyone. Now I don't want to keep you any longer so here's the new chapter. And it's longer than the last two as well if that makes anything better.**

Ahh… so warm and cozy and comfy. "Claire darling, time to wake up." My eyes shot open and I looked up at the speaker.

"Johnny Depp?" I sat up in the huge canopy bed, shifting the silk covers around. Johnny Depp indeed, holding a beautiful breakfast tray in front of a roaring fire. I like this.

"Yes dear, did you forget me? I have breakfast for you." He set the tray in front of me and pecked me on the cheek. I grabbed a perfectly buttered English muffin and took a dainty bite.

"How could I ever forget you Johnny." I looked down at my hands and spotted a huge diamond ring perched on my finger, a simple gold wedding band next to it. "Are we married!?" I squealed happily. Come on! I'm married to Johnny Depp! Wouldn't you squeal too?

He laughed and opened his mouth to reply but all that came out was a sound like nails on a chalkboard. Wait… what? Where are the silky tones of my husband!?

"Umm… Johnny?" I set down my English muffin and reached for his hand. He just did it again, sounding kind of like…

"A ROOSTER!" I growled and opened my eyes. I was only in my little farmhouse and to my great sadness no Johnny was present. I checked my hands- no rings either. Crap! Who the hell let's roosters crow at ungodly hours like this!?

It crowed again, even more earsplitting and annoying than before. I pulled my pillow over my head and attempted to fall back asleep. Do roosters have snooze buttons? Most likely not since the thing kept going off no matter how much I willed it to stop. I had finally gotten comfortable enough to fall back asleep- rooster or no rooster- when I heard a knock on the door.

Six in the morning!? How can this be considered suitable visiting hours!? I rolled out of bed and groaned loudly. Whoever was at the door knocked again. "Coming!" I ran to the door and reached for the handle blindly for a moment. I was still pretty groggy- I never used to be a morning person. This village would make me one eventually I guessed. Finally hand and doorknob connected and I opened the door to see…

"Good morning Mayor! Are you here for my tour?" I smiled as cheerily as I could having been rudely awakened by that awful rooster.

The Mayor just stared at me, mouth gaping open, slowly turning a deep shade of crimson. "C-Claire…" He pointed at me unbelievingly. What is wrong with this guy? Maybe I did give him brain damage yesterday when I hit him with the hammer. I looked down at myself, where he was pointing and froze. Oh my God! I forgot to put pajamas on last night! Here I was, standing in my crimson red laced lined matching set from Victoria's Secret acting like I answered the door in lingerie everyday. The poor, poor man.

"I guess I'm not wearing pajamas, am I?"

He nodded weakly.

"I don't usually do this… I got lost last night and was too tired- it's a long story. I'm going to go put some clothes on… would you like to come in?" I was taking this pretty calmly for me. I'm not often caught in my underwear everyday or anything it's just I'm still not exactly sure why I'm standing here still. Maybe it would have been better- more normal if I had slammed the door in his face.

He took a deep breath. "I think I'll be fine out here." He was still beet red when I closed the door. I quickly reached into my closet and grabbed a long flowery skirt and a white blouse. Once I was dressed with my hair brushed and a touch of lipstick, I opened the door.

The Mayor looked slightly calmer when I came out in real clothes, not completely normal yet, but calmer. I noticed he was playing with his hat with shaking hands.

"I would offer you a cold shower, but I don't exactly have a bathroom yet." I smiled cheekily and he laughed weakly.

"I'm fine Claire- just a bit shocked is all. I brought you some breakfast since you don't have a kitchen yet." He pulled out some rice balls wrapped in a napkin.

"Thanks Thomas." I grabbed them and took a huge bite out of the first one. "Mmm." He seemed pleased. I finished them a few minutes later. "So I guess I have some villagers to meet then eh?"

He nodded. "If you're ready we can head out now." He started towards the town and I followed along behind him. He headed towards the part of town farthest from my house and stopped at a slightly larger house with a building attached to the side of it. All of the houses seemed to have a similar design. I had a feeling I might get lost. He knocked on the door, which was almost instantly opened by a pleasant looking woman with short black hair.

"Oh hello Thomas, what brings you- eee!" She squealed upon catching sight of me. "You must be the new girl- My! Aren't you lovely! Such hair! What style! You could give Mary some tips. Oh I can't wait until Sasha and Manna see you!" She turned and yelled into the house. "Basil! Basil! The new girl is here to see us!"

I shrank back a bit while she examined my fashion choices and remarked on how she wished there were high fashion boutiques in Mineral Town. Finally she was joined by a rugged yet handsome- ruggedly handsome- man. I supposed this was Basil. "Hello dear. Sorry if my wife frightened you there, Anna is fond of her gossip and you are all the town has been talking about. I'm Basil." He extended his hand and I shook it.

"It's pleasure to meet you Basil- Anna. I'm Claire."

Basil nodded. "Well I'm glad to see someone responsible taking over that farm. If you ever need help with anything plant related just give me a call."

"I will sir."

He put a restraining hand on his wife's shoulder and guided her into the house. "We won't keep you any longer. I'm sure the Mayor has plenty more places to show you."

"Bye Claire!" Anna squeaked as she was pulled away. I sighed softly in relief and the Mayor grinned.

"I'm sure that you're not used to being the center of attention like this."

"No, not at all. It's not terrible I suppose."

"Follow me, there's more to see." The next hour or two passed in a blur of faces I was determined to eventually know by heart. There was the shy librarian, a dear older woman and her little Grandson, the Mayor's son who laughed when he saw me. I thought he was off his rocker too until he mentioned that he was a good friend of Gotz.

A weedy looking store clerk, his stern wife and modelesque daughter, were next. This stern wife was one of the gossipers but you would never know it really. She had given me a quick look over and remarked that. "You'll do fine. Absolutely fine. Right Karen?"

This Karen girl had only narrowed her eyes and sulked off. "Too girly if you ask me."

"I'm terribly sorry Claire, but Karen a brat sometimes. You some visit anytime though, don't let her scare you off." In short, I liked her. Straight to the point, even with her own daughter.

Then there was the studly yet serious doctor and the fluttery nurse who was all smiles, the priest who was all Godly, a loud frightening woman who would not shut up and her boozing husband. He smelt too much like wine if you know what I mean. A peppy redhead and her stately father, a muscle clad man with a box-like head and a sly looking salesman. A depressed guy with a ponytail, a quiet guy with a hammer and his grouchy grandfather and an energetic little girl and her grandfather. It was about there that our tour got cut short by a demand for the Mayor's opinion on the music for the Goddess Flowery type Festival of sorts.

"You can find your way from here right Claire? The Poultry Farm is right down there and then you'll be done the tour. Okay?"

I had only nodded my head, the Mayor was looking pretty flustered by the attack of the village women. So I then started in the direction he pointed, humming under my breath. My mildly off-tune attempt at 'Apologize' by One Republic filled the still air as I carried on down the path. I was about to hit the chorus when I realized I wasn't the only one humming it. I stopped and looked around, listening to the unknown hummer. Finally, I spotted a lean figure perched on the top of the fence surrounding what I now realized was the Poultry Farm the Mayor had told me about. He was unaware of my presence and continued to hum. He wasn't half bad to be honest.

I slid up behind the hummer. "You like One Republic too?"

I swiftly jumped out of the way as the redhead fell backwards off the fence in shock. He landed at my feet and looked up at me, dazed.

"Wah! Oh… yeah I do." He climbed back onto his feet and rubbed his glasses against his apron before perching them back on the bridge of his nose. I gave him a quick once over. He was quite tall, almost a head taller than me, scrawny and pale with a long mop of red hair and complete with black rimmed glasses. Kind of what you might call a geek. But still, if he had my taste in music he had to be an interesting guy.

"I'm Claire, I just moved here yesterday. I was kind of on a tour but the Mayor had to go… You're the last stop." I smoothed out my skirt casually before looking back up at him.

"Oh you're the new girl! The Mayor said you were coming but he never told us how beautiful you ar-" He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. Not quite quick enough with the tongue. "Anyways, I'm Rick."

I smiled pleasantly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Rick."

He beamed. "Yes it's a pleasure to meet you too. Would you like the grand tour?" He looked out fondly at his well-tended farm. I wasn't overly thrilled about starting work on my own beloved farm today so I nodded my head yes.

His grin grew wider and he beckoned me into the farm.

**A/N: Well there you have it! Chapter three! Hopefully this story looks like it's going somewhere. I hope you all don't mind that I mixed my fondness for Johnny Depp into this story. I couldn't help myself! Keep your eyes peeled for chapter 4! I think I'm going to call it Poultry!**


	4. Poultry

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or any of its characters. I am merely borrowing the characters for this story._

**A/N: It seems that everytime I put up a new chapter I have to apologize for how long it takes. I truly am sorry to everyone who reads this story for the time it takes me to get updates up. Anyways here is the next chapter, I think it is shorter than my last few but I'll try to make the next one a little bit longer than this one is if I can get a solid idea of what to do. Also, thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to review and tell me what you think of this story. Your reviews make my day.**

**Claire's POV**

"Well this obviously is my Poultry Farm- to be honest I can't exactly call it mine. My mom and sister help me and it is my dad's but-"

"You do most of the work right?" I could tell by the way his chest swelled with pride that he did.

"Yeah I do to be honest." He gestured towards a little pen. "I guess we should start here."

"Okay." I followed behind him and stood a little to his side as I looked into the pen. He was naming the five or so birds who were clucking and pecking around inside.

"Stella, Bella, Ella, Edgar, and Cook." He pointed at each in turn. The rooster, Edgar, turned and fixed me with what I considered to be an evil glare. I stared him down and he crowed loudly. I recognized that painful voice.

"YOU!" I pointed an accusing finger at Edgar.

"What! Me?" Rick looked at me nervously. "Did I do something wrong?"

I shook my head. "You did nothing wrong. Edgar on the other hand woke me up at six in the morning."

Rick looked from me to Edgar and started laughing. Ugh. I crossed my arms defiantly. "What!?"

Rick stopped laughing, though a goofy grin remained on his decidedly goofy face. "Oh it's just nothing. Don't worry."

I stamped my foot and tried to look menacing. "Tell me." Yeah, I know I'm being a whiny brat and I officially hate whiny brats but whatever gets the information.

Rick seemed to be gageing my reaction as he told me. "Well everyone wakes up at six here. Actually Edgar is the town's alarm clock. Everyone loves him. Everyone but you really." Edgar seemed to be puffing his chest proudly as he stalked off after one of the hens. Men. I didn't say that out loud of course, what I really said was.

"I guess I'll just have to get used to getting up at six then."

He laughed. "I guess you will. You'd never get anything done otherwise."

I groaned softly. "This is deffinately change. I don't know if it's the change I'm looking for."

He eyed me seriously for a moment. "Don't say that Claire. You have to really believe in something to achieve it." He paused for a moment. "Why don't we finish the tour and then you can stay for dinner. I'm sure mom and Popuri would love the company and then I can give you a little help getting the farm started since you kind of seem like you don't have much experience at farming. Not to insult you or anything. Also I've been inside your house and there isn't really much of a kitchen."

I took in what he said and beamed. He seemed like a good guy, laughing at my expense aside. "Sure Rick. I would love to. Thanks for offering your help."

He blushed to the roots of his hair. "Oh it's nothing really. You just look like you need it and you seem nice."

I nodded and gestured to the rest of his farm. "Carry on then."

We spent the next hour going around his farm, looking at all the different things. Sometimes, if he thought my farm had one, he would explain the object's use, other times he would just tell me stories about actually growing up on his farm with his family. His stories had me in stitches, he is a pretty funny guy.

"So your parents actually believed you when you said you got chicken pox from the chickens?"

"My dad did, I don't think my mom believed me much though. Still, I didn't have to do my chores for a week since my dad didn't want me getting worse by hanging around them. I actually had to convince him it was Karen and not the chickens who gave them to me before I was allowed to go anywhere near the hen-house. Popuri was so jealous. Of course Karen said I owed her big after that one." He laughed a little. I noticed that in most of his stories Karen was the main feature and I wondered how someone so nice like him could hang out with a girl like Karen. By the way he spoke about her it sounded like she was his best friend.

"If you don't mind me asking… How can you hang out with this Karen girl? I met her today and she didn't even seem nice at all." I thought back to her expression as she looked at me, almost as if I wasn't worthy because I wore a skirt. Who cares if I wear a bloody skirt!? I think they are form flattering!

He looked thoughtful. "Karen doesn't get along with everyone right away. She judges character really quickly and usually she's pretty good at it. She must have either messed up for once or felt threatened by you for some reason, but she's a good laugh once you know her. I'm sure once she realizes you're nice you'll get along just fine."

I nodded, processing the information. Karen? Threatened by me? What a curious thought. What in her life could I possibly threaten?…

"Rick! Rick! Where are you?! Mom's not feeling great so I made dinner and if you don't hurry it's all going to get stone cold!" A high pitched voice shattered my thought process and before Rick or I could react a pink blur flew at us. "Oh so you have a guest and you didn't even bother to tell me! This is the new girl and we're supposed to share Rick! Now it's dinner and there's no time to talk and tomorrow all the girls will be talking about her and I'll have nothing to say!" A pretty girl around my age stood before us, hands on her hips, pouting and acting like I wasn't even there. What a charming first impression.

Rick started rubbing the back of his neck again. "Calm down Poppy, I invited her to dinner."

Poppy, whom I'm assuming is Popuri, visibly brightened at his words and started bouncing on the heels of her feet. "Oh what a great idea! You're so smart Rick!" She kissed his cheek and then grabbed my hand. "Follow me inside, you can wash up with Rick, though not together of course while I set you a place at the table. Mother will be so pleased!" She dragged me into the house while Rick followed behind with an apologetic expression on his face.


	5. Dinner

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or any of its characters. I am merely borrowing the characters for this story._

**A/N: Okay, here's a new chapter and again I am so sorry it took this long to get done. I had a really hard (but fun) semester at school so I had no time to do anything and I didn't really have inspiration to write anyways. But summer is here and now I have lots of time, some ideas of what I might do and I bought the Harvest Moon DS Cute so maybe I'll think of an interesting idea for a story about that. Anyways enjoy this chapter. Once Claire meets Kai I think I might put a poll up to see whom you guys want Claire to end up with.**

**Claire's POV**

Dinner with Rick's family was certainly a new experience. Back at home… well back in my old life dinner was a Cup 'O Noodles in front of the t.v, alone accompanied by my mother screeching into the answering machine begging me to call her back seeing as she gave me life. Dinner here was actually pleasant.

On arrival inside the farmhouse I was instructed to follow Rick upstairs to "wash up" while Popuri and her mother Lillia prepared dinner. And real dinner too, none of the Cup 'O Noodles crap. I could smell things cooking all the way upstairs and it was absolutely mouthwatering.

"Rick, you are the luckiest man alive to have someone cook you a real dinner every night like this."

He looked up, surprised. "This is how everyone does it around here, a meal with your family or down at the inn where everyone is practically family." He looked a little curious. "Didn't you eat with your family in the city?"

I ducked my head. "I barely even talked to my family, let alone eat with them."

He tired to conceal his surprise with concern. "I can't even imagine that… well I guess I can what with my father and all but that's dif-"

"Are you guys done up there!? Mom wants to meet Claire!"

Rick shrugged and held out his hand. "Are you ready to head down?"

What I really wanted was to hear more about his father I had yet to see but heading down was a suitable second option. I took his hand and smiled. "Sure. Let's go." I hadn't felt this at home even in my own house for a long while.

We reached the bottom of the stairs and Popuri dragged Rick off to set the table. She pointed to a large fireplace currently not in use, at the back of the room. "You can take a seat over there. Mom is really excited to meet you."

I settled myself into an armchair, startled by a soft laugh. A middle-aged woman with hair very much like her daughter was smiling at me. "You're sitting in Rick's chair."

"Am I?" I started to get out of the chair, worried that there was some unspoken rule that only Rick sat in that chair.

She held out her hand. "Oh no, you can sit there if you want. I just found it funny you would choose that spot." She beckoned with her raised hand. "But while you're up come and shake my hand."

I closed the small distance between us and took her hand in mine, it felt very warm and motherly, nothing like my mother. She shook it gently. "I'm Lillia dear."

"I'm Claire. It's very nice to meet you Lillia."

She beamed as I took my seat. "It's very nice to meet you as well Claire. How are you finding Mineral Town?"

I couldn't help but smile back, she had such a gentle air about her. "I'm finding Mineral Town very much to my liking, I'm just not so sure about my own farm."

"Ahh yes, old Mineral Farm. You've got quite a bit of work there but you have fire in your eyes dear and with eyes like that I'm sure you'll conquer any adversity."

I felt warmed by her statement, wondering if maybe there was a way to make things work out on my farm. Popuri wandered over then, wiping her hands on her apron. "Dinner's ready. Do you need a hand Ma?"

Lillia nodded. "Yes dear, that would be lovely. I'm not feeling quite myself today." She added the last part for my benefit. I was sure her children knew when she was and wasn't feeling herself. I followed them over to the table, taking the seat next to Rick. He smiled at me as I sat down. Popuri helped her mother into her chair and then sat down across from me.

"Would you like to say Grace, Claire?" I looked up from the mouthwatering food to see Popuri staring at me inquiringly.

"I've never said Grace before, unless you count before lunch in grade school." Her expression grew shocked and I ducked my head again. Rick swiftly cut in, saving me from further embarrassment at being so very different from these sweet country folk.

"I'll say Grace Poppy." I gave him a grateful smile as we all grabbed hands, he gave my hand a gentle squeeze in response. He muttered a quick prayer and then everyone began to scoop things into bowls and onto plates.

"I just made stew again, I would have made something nicer had I known we were having a guest." She threw Rick a quick glare.

"Stew is perfectly fine with me, I can barely boil an egg."

Popuri's eyes widened again. "I'll have to have you over to learn how to cook. We can't have you living off instant meals all alone in that little house of yours." She paused. "And besides, if you want to get married you have to know how to cook."

"Popuri!" Her mother gave her a stern glance.

"It's fine Lillia, she's actually right. I'd love to come by and learn to cook someday." A took a mouthful of stew and sighed happily. I had started to forget what real food tasted like. Popuri smiled at me.

"Anytime we can find a day just let me know." Popuri said in between bites. The meal carried on in companionable silence for a while, until everyone's bowls were emptied. I leaned back in my chair while Rick shuffled around in his.

"That was good Popuri, but you put too much salt again." Rick pushed his empty bowl away from him while Popuri huffed.

"Don't worry Popuri, I thought it was lovely." Popuri beamed at me and I was sure that if I wasn't in her good books before I was now. She cleared away all the dishes and set a plate of cookies on the table.

"I hope you like oatmeal Claire, I made them this afternoon to give you as a welcoming present but since you're here we can all share them." I nodded and grabbed a cookie, touched that she would make something for me.

When everything was finished I looked at the clock and gasped. "Is it eight already!?" No work would be done on my farm tonight, that's for sure.

Rick looked at his wrist, startled. "Oh yeah it is. Sorry for wasting your day Claire."

I shook my head. "It wasn't a waste, it was fun." Better than manual labour, that's for sure. I climbed out of my chair and stretched. "I guess I better be heading home, thanks for taking me in for the day."

Lillia smiled. "It's no problem dear, you were no trouble."

Popuri nodded. "Yeah come by anytime."

Rick got out of his chair and slipped on a jacket. "I'll walk you home Claire." I raised my hands to protest but he shook his head. "It's no trouble and I don't want you to get lost."

"Alright fine, you can walk me home if I really seem that helpless." He laughed as we stepped into the slightly cool night air. We carried on silently, me breathing in the fresh spring air and looking around contentedly and Rick somewhere deep in thought. When we reached my farm I turned to him.

"Thanks for walking me home and not treating me like I'm from some other planet today."

He smiled, breaking out of whatever trance he was in. "Well you're a person and I know how much I would hate it if people gawked at me so really it's nothing."

I nodded. "I guess I'll see you around then."

He turned to leave but paused. "I said I'd help you get started so how about I come by tomorrow around seven?"

"Alright. I'd like that." He really was a nice guy, offering to help me get started on my sad excuse for a farm. Even if seven was a bit early for my standards.

He beamed. "See you tomorrow then."

"Bye." I waved at his retreating form before dashing into the warmth of my tiny home.


End file.
